Chapter Nine:
The tribesman stepped out into the bitter freezing cold. The harsh winds whipped around him. This was one of the coldest days, even people like him could not take it. Thankfully it kept the Imperial Forces out.
The war had ground to a halt and remained at a tense standoff. Soldiers stood on guard and patrol on both sides, waiting for further conflict. With binoculars, he could observe the troop movements.
For weeks he watched as they trudged around in the snow. Back and forth would come small groups of soldiers. They were always on alert, having there weapons ready.
On this days there was more movement than usual. Smaller groups were gathering together, and organizing into a larger formation. He took off running into the area where they were joining up.
Getting closer he saw an army building up. The soldiers were all ready with there weapons. In the middle of the army was a shocking sight. It was Esdeath.
One of the most notorious Imperial generals. She stood with a blue tasseled uniform. Her head cocked back and forth, inspecting her surroundings. A cocky grin emerged on her face. The tribeman saw the champion step towards her.
Esdeath let the champion approach her. "And who might you be?"
"I am the defender of this tribe." he boldly declared. "I will not let you continue your advance."
Esdeath gave a brief nod of acknowledgement.
Tatsumi strained under the weight of the backpack. "Do I really have to wear this?" he groaned.
"Of course you do." Bulat replied.
"Worth a shot." Tatsumi replied as he continued to hike. "I get it, it teaches strength and endurance."
Tatsumi felt the dirt of the rough trail crumble with each step. He observed the thick forest around him.
The trail grew stepper and Tatsumi struggled to keep up. He saw Bulat in front of him making it look easy, and pushed on harder. He could not look weak in times like these. "So what exactly is this place?" he asked. "What's special about it."
"It has tree danger beasts."
"Wait what?" Tatsumi declared in shock. "The tree and going to try to kill us?"
Right before he could say another word, a root was wrapped around his ankle. Tatsumi lifted his sword up and slammed it down. With a crunch, the bark split open. He then yanked his leg back and forth, splitting the root.
The end of the root tore out of the ground. It jabbed at Tatsumi, who kept mobile to avoid it. Then it went slack and fell. "Got one of them." Bulat commented.
He turned toward Bulat and saw the tree walk towards them, with its roots as legs. Bulat to a few swipes at a branch and Tatsumi ran at the trunk. He leapt off the ground and a low swipe came under him.
He saw a gaping mouth in the trunk, and jabbed into it. He briefly looked back to see Bulat struggling with branches, then went at the trunk.
He dug his sword into the open mouth, splitting the trunk open. It cracked and crunched, then fell over. More trees came to life and went over to Tatsumi, who quickly backed off over to Bulat.
The tree surrounded Tatsumi and Bulat, who stood back to back with swords ready. Root came at them from all directions, and they tried their best to keep them away. As there swords broke the ends of the branches, the trees moved closer.
Tatsumi lunged a tree and aimed at the roots. His sword sliced through one of them, sending the tree into a limp. A quick jab into the trunk sent it toppling. He then looked back to Bulat who was grappling with saplings.
He grabbed one of them and swung it widley, slamming the roots and branches into the nearby trees. Tatsumi joined in, cutting the saplings to shreds.
The Prime Minister Honest and the Emperor sat in the throne room. "So is she returning?" the young ruler asked. "Are the rumors true?"
"Indeed Esdeath has returned a conquering hero." replied the Prime Minister. "She has crushed the puny resistance and has returned to the Capitol."
The doors swung open and Esdeath walked in. She looked at Honest with a smirk. "Am I currently being discussed?"
"Indeed you are." Honest replied. "I was explaining your latest victory with the young Emperor."
"I could have had more fun if you hadn't summoned me back."
"And I apologize for that." Honest replied. "Though we are having problems at home right now, so your presence is most vital."
"It's okay." Esdeath remarked. "I think your torturers needed a bit of a refresher course. They were a tad sloopy."
"I'm glad you could help. Right now we have more pressing matters. I need you to dispose of a particularly vexing rival." Honest said.
A trio walked into the room. The man in the center, with a gray mustache, spoke up. "We can deal with it."
"It will be so much fun." the smaller man said with a giggle.
The large man let out a deep laugh. "I really look forward to this."
"It looks like you all have quite some enthusiasm." remarked Honest. "You can hash out the details with Esdeath, I will retire to my chambers."
Honest walked over to his bedroom and plopped down in bed. It was nice to relax but something had been bothering him for awhile. It was a weird pulsing sensation. He tried to clear his mind but it kept bothering him.
The bed shook over and over. Everytime he attempted to close his eyes and drift off, it would shock him back into reality. I just would not stop. He was getting really irritated. He slammed his fists against the bed.
The pulsing stopped for a while, then started again. Honest was about to give up, but then he realized something. Whatever had made those weird sensations had just acknowledged him. Maybe they were alive.
He slammed his fist on the bed three times. He waited and got three pulses in return. Hoping it was not an accident, he did five thumps. He waited in anticipation and got five pulses in return.
Honest's heart raced in excitement. Something or someone was trying to speak to him. He had to figure out a system.